Department for Transport

Department for Transport: Sick Leave

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.

Jesse Norman: The Department and its Agencies have provided the responses below for the period 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2019.The number of staff that took sickness absence due to stress was 553. The Department and its agencies employed a total of 14,956 employees at the end of April 2019.Of the total number of staff that took sickness absence, the proportion due to stress was 7.57%. The proportion of working days lost to stress, out of all days lost due to sickness absence, was 14.33%.The total cost of working days lost to sickness absence for the period above is estimated at £13,710,056.78. The Department has a number of sources of support for employees including a free-to-use Employee Assistance Programme, which offers up to six counselling sessions at a convenient location within days of referral, and a Wellbeing Buddy Network run by volunteers. It has also launched a Mental Health First Aid service run by trained volunteers for colleagues in immediate emotional distress.The Department recognises the importance of the line manager in mental health, and has a resource available for line managers to provide guidance on managing colleagues with mental health difficulties/issues. It has also launched Wellbeing Action Plans, to guide line managers in conversations about wellbeing, including in relation to mental health.

Heathrow Airport: Railways

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2019 to Question 249315 on Railways, how many proposals for a Southern Rail Link to Heathrow were received following his market-led proposals invitation of 20 March 2018, how many of those proposals remain under active consideration by his Department; on what dates he last (a) met and (b) corresponded with the promoters of schemes under active consideration; and when he plans to announce the process for selecting a preferred developer.

Andrew Jones: 30 market-led proposals were received in response to the Call for Ideas launched in March 2018. Due to commercial confidentiality we are not able to disclose details of meetings or correspondence with particular proposals. The Department responded to those proposals in December 2018 and continued engagement with 10 proposals which had the potential to be financially credible without government support.Separately to the Call for Ideas, a Southern Rail Link to Heathrow Market Sounding was also launched in March 2018. Following the publication of the Market Sounding Report in December 2018 the Department has been working to further develop and clarify the outcomes we want to be delivered from this project and consider appropriate commercial and procurement models. This work will be made available to the market by the summer along with further engagement opportunities.

Heathrow Airport: Railways

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2019 to Question 249314 on Railways, what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) a Western Rail Link to Heathrow Airport and (b) a Southern Rail Link to Heathrow Airport on the level of emissions of (i) greenhouse gases and (ii) other atmospheric pollutants in relation to (A) the existing configuration and (B) the addition of the North West Runway at London Heathrow Airport.

Andrew Jones: When developing the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), the Government considered the environmental impacts of airport expansion, including surface access, in its assessment. The ANPS is clear that a new Northwest Runway will not receive Development Consent unless it can demonstrate compliance with air quality and climate change obligations. Specific assessment of air quality and climate change impacts associated with the proposed Western and Southern Rail Links will form part of the required environmental assessments accompanying any development consent application. Both schemes are intended to support travel mode shift from road to rail, therefore supporting air quality and climate change targets.

Heathrow Airport: Railways

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2019 to Question 249314, what (a) meetings, (b) correspondence and (c) other engagement his Department has had with (i) local authorities, (ii) the Mayor of London and (iii) the aviation industry on Western and Southern Rail Access to London Heathrow Airport since the publication of the Nicholls-Agilia reports on 19 December 2018.

Andrew Jones: My Department has continued to actively engage with many parties in the interest of passengers and communities including Local Authorities, Transport for London and representatives of the aviation industry since the publication of the Market Sounding Findings Report published in December 2018.

South Eastern Rail Franchise

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has withheld consent for Govia to vary the (a) pay and (b) conditions of Southeastern staff under schedule 15.2 of the franchise agreement in relation to the last twelve or thirteen months of the franchise.

Andrew Jones: Southeastern and the trade unions have agreed pay deals in the last 12 months. Specific details of pay are confidential however Southeastern staff have received an increase of around the level of the Retail Price Index which reflects a real terms increase when compared to the Consumer Price Index and cost of living increases. These pay deals were approved by the Department. The Secretary of State has made clear that the rail industry should be moving towards using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as the inflation measure for pay agreements.

Shipping: Conditions of Employment

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) the public purse of a change in the level of national insurance receipts from seafarers, (b) the level of seafarers' take home pay and (c) seafarers' pensions as a result of P&O’s decision to move six cross-channel ferries from the UK Ship Register to the Cypriot maritime register.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The decision for P&O to reflag its vessels was a commercial matter as are contracts of employment. However in regard the legislative position;Pension rights remain in place.Subject to EU social security coordinating regulations, usually an employee would pay social security contributions to the country they are working in.Unless the seafarer is in receipt of Seafarer Earning Deductions or for other reasons is not considered a resident of the UK then income tax will also continue to be paid to the UK on earnings from their employment as a seafarer.Therefore unless there has been a change in the employment contract it is not expected that the take home pay will differ.

Motor Vehicles: Lighting

Martin Whitfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations Act to reduce the maximum glare permitted by automobile headlights.

Jesse Norman: Regulations are already in place to help prevent headlights from causing glare, and there are no plans to change national law. Before vehicles can be sold or registered in the United Kingdom manufacturers must ensure compliance with international vehicle approval requirements, which include defined beam patterns and intensities to minimise the occurrence of glare. The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 prohibit the use of headlights that can cause undue dazzle or discomfort to other road users. Vehicle users have a responsibility to ensure their vehicles are maintained correctly, and headlight aim is checked at the annual roadworthiness inspection (MOT test) to ensure it is within acceptable limits.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) inform the public about the effect of engine idling on public health and (b) discourage engine idling in order to protect public health.

Jesse Norman: The Department is supporting Local Authorities to introduce measures such as Clean Air Zones, which involve public information campaigns on the dangers of air pollution. Idling policy is currently under review and the Department aims to make it possible for Local Authorities to tackle idling more effectively and build on their existing powers.

Roads: North Herefordshire

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding he has made available for the repair of roads in North Herefordshire.

Jesse Norman: I refer my Honourable Friend to the answer I gave on 13 February 2019 (Hansard, 217499) which provided details of the funding the Department for Transport has allocated to Herefordshire County Council, as local highway authority, for the repair of roads and associated local highway assets since 2015.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of proposals to award five state-run Chinese companies a wholesale package to build High Speed Two on the financial sustainability of UK (a) civil engineering contractors, (b) supplier chains and (c) steel-making companies.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The main civil engineering works contracts for Phase One of HS2 were awarded in July 2017 to 4 joint ventures comprising European and British construction firms. The Department has not assessed any proposal to award a wholesale package to build High Speed Two.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Sick Leave

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.

Andrew Stephenson: The number of employees in the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) during the calendar year of 2018 who were absent due to mental health reasons, including stress was 59, this represented 1.5% of the total workforce. The proportion of sickness absence related to mental health reasons, including stress, was 23% of the overall sickness absence for the department for the same time period. The estimated cost to the department over this period for employees taking sickness absence, is estimated at £1,421,738.30. BEIS is committed to supporting the wellbeing of its staff, including helping them to manage stress in the workplace, and has a Wellbeing Strategy that includes a specific focus on supporting good mental health in its employees. This strategy is based in part on the Civil Service Health and Wellbeing Strategy that also includes the promotion of good mental health for all as one of its five priorities. Through a programme of wellbeing events and speakers, a growing cohort of mental health first aiders, promotion and signposting of the employee assistance programme, and e-learning packages for staff on stress, resilience and wellbeing, the Department has seen continued awareness and engagement on wellbeing and good mental health.

Construction: Trading Standards

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Trading Standards in protecting consumers from rogue and incompetent builders in the construction industry.

Kelly Tolhurst: Holding answer received on 20 May 2019



No such assessment has been made, but the Government is considering options to ensure that our system of consumer protection provides a robust response to both local and national threats for the Consumer White Paper. The Government has endorsed the TrustMark scheme to reduce the number of rogue and incompetent builders; and to identify local traders who have undergone independent checks for both trade competence and good trading practice. This scheme gives consumers increased confidence and ability to choose registered businesses including builders who adhere to and maintain high standards. TrustMark is actively involved with Trading Standards to provide further protection to consumers affected by rogue builders.

Females: Directors

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the number of women in senior roles at UK energy companies.

Kelly Tolhurst: Holding answer received on 21 May 2019



Government does not make assessments of the number of women in senior roles at UK energy companies, but alongside sponsoring the Hampton-Alexander Review on FTSE Women Leaders and promoting diversity in the energy sector, we support the work of POWERful Women which collates data on gender diversity in senior and middle management levels in the energy sector - which can be found at: http://powerfulwomen.org.uk/board-statistics-by-company/Strong progress has been made in that the representation of women on FTSE 100 boards has increased from 12.5% in 2011 to 31.6% in May 2019 and among executive directors has doubled from 5.5% to 10.3% in the same period.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Dong Samuel Lauk and Aggrey Ezbon Idri

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his South Sudanese counterpart on the (a) kidnapping and subsequent death of opposition member Aggrey Idri and human rights lawyer Doug Samuel Luak and (b) need to bring the perpetrators of those crimes to justice.

Harriett Baldwin: The British Government is deeply disturbed by the UN Panel of Expert's findings that Dong Samuel Luak and Aggrey Idri were abducted from Kenya and executed in South Sudan by the South Sudanese national security service in 2017. We call on the South Sudanese Government to respond to these findings, and ensure that its defence and security forces are subject to the rule of law, to prevent future disappearances.  The disappearance of these individuals and concerns for their safety have been raised by the British Ambassador, and by the UK Special Envoy for South Sudan with senior members of the South Sudanese Government on a number of occasions. The case has also been raised in Nairobi with the Kenyan authorities. This is part of a troubling pattern of harassment and intimidation of civic actors by South Sudanese authorities. The British Government regularly calls for the release of all political prisoners in accordance with the 12 September peace agreement. We also led efforts to renew the mandate of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan in March, and support the renewal of the Panel of Experts mandate due at the end of May. The work of these UN bodies is critical to exposing the perpetrators of human rights violations in South Sudan. ​

South Sudan: Detainees

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the level of detentions of political activists in South Sudan; and what representations he has made to his South Sudanese counterparts on those detentions.

Harriett Baldwin: The British Government believes that the number of political detainees in South Sudan remains high, despite a commitment to release all political detainees as part of the 12 September peace agreement. However, in the absence of information from the South Sudanese authorities, it is not possible to determine precise figures.  We regularly press the Government of South Sudan for the release of all political prisoners in accordance with its commitments. An end to restrictions on freedom of expression is vital if South Sudan is to realise the opportunity of peace the September agreement offers. The Government of South Sudan's failure to comply with this provision of the agreement undermines confidence in their commitment to achieving a meaningful peace. In order to ensure transparency and respect for human rights, the South Sudanese authorities should also allow access to all detention facilities, including those of the national security service and military intelligence.​

South Sudan: Armed Conflict

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of child soldiers actively deployed in the conflict in South Sudan.

Harriett Baldwin: The British Government is deeply concerned by the continued and widespread recruitment and use of children by all parties to the conflict in South Sudan. It is not possible to accurately determine the number of children who have been recruited and used as child soldiers, whether as fighters, or in other positions including, sadly, child “brides” or sex slaves. However, the British Government continues to exert pressure on all parties to the conflict in South Sudan to release children in their ranks, to stop recruiting, and to ensure an end to all violations against children. ​

Attorney General

Attorney General: Sick Leave

Tom Brake: To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.

Lucy Frazer: The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has had officials take sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months. However, we are not in a position to release this data, as due to the small size of the office this could lead to individuals becoming identifiable.The AGO is highly committed to the health and wellbeing of its staff, and works to help them to manage stress in the workplace. The AGO offers a range of guidance and services in place to support staff, including launching its own wellbeing statement and strategy, and receiving the commitment of the Executive Board to wellbeing. The staff volunteer led wellbeing group has organised numerous events for colleagues to help improve wellbeing and manage stress. The AGO also offers free counselling services for staff members.

Department of Health and Social Care

Department of Health and Social Care: Sick Leave

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.

Caroline Dinenage: The number of employees in the Department from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 who were absent due to mental health reasons, including stress was 46, this represented 3% of the total workforce. The proportion of sickness absence related to mental health reasons, including stress, was 22% of the overall sickness absence for the Department for the same time period. The estimated cost to the Department from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 for employees taking sickness absence, is estimated at £936,927.

Pathology: Staff

Eleanor Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of adequate levels of NHS staff in cancer pathology units.

Seema Kennedy: Health Education England (HEE) published the Cancer Workforce Plan for England in December 2017, which committed to the expansion of capacity and skills of the cancer workforce, including an ambition to attract and retain more cancer specialists, including histopathologists, by 2021. In 2019, 100% of specialist pathology training places, including histopathology, were filled.Following the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan in January 2019, HEE is now working with NHS England and NHS Improvement to understand the longer-term workforce implications for the further development of cancer services.Locally, responsibility for assessing and managing staffing levels, including specialty staff, rests with individual NHS trusts who are best placed to decide how many staff they need to provide a given service.

Baby Care Units: Mental Health Services

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of long-term mental health support given to parents of babies discharged from neonatal units.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Perinatal mental health services are available to all parents, including parents of babies that have been discharged from neonatal units, when they need it.In April 2019, NHS England confirmed that new and expectant mothers across the country are now able to access specialist mental health care in the area where they live. The rollout of specialist community services across the whole of England, means that those suffering from perinatal mental health problems are able to access high quality care much closer to home. The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health committed to invest £365 million from 2015/16 to 2020/21 in perinatal mental health services to ensure that, by 2020/21, at least 30,000 more women each year are able to access evidence-based specialist mental health care during the perinatal period. The NHS Long Term Plan includes a commitment for a further 24,000 women to be able to access specialist perinatal mental health care by 2023/24. Specialist care will also be available from preconception to 24 months after birth, which will provide an extra year of support. Support will also be extended to fathers and partners of women accessing specialist perinatal mental health services and maternity outreach clinics.

Asthma: Prescriptions

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to respond to Asthma UK's stop unfair prescription charges campaign.

Seema Kennedy: The Department is aware of Asthma UK’s campaign in relation to prescription charges. The Department does not have plans to review the current system. Extensive arrangements are already in place to help people afford National Health Service prescriptions. These include a broad range of NHS prescription charge exemptions, for which someone with asthma may qualify.To support those with greatest need who do not qualify for an exemption, cost of the prescription pre-payment certificates were frozen for another year. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just £2 per week.

Asthma: Prescriptions

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the current prescription charging regime on access to medication for asthma patients.

Seema Kennedy: The Department has made no such assessment. Extensive arrangements are already in place to help people access National Health Service prescriptions. These include a broad range of NHS prescription charge exemptions, for which someone with asthma may qualify.To support those with greatest need who do not qualify for an exemption, cost of the prescription pre-payment certificates were frozen for another year. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just £2 per week.

Urinary Tract Infections

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce unplanned hospital admissions resulting from urinary tract infections.

Seema Kennedy: In England, it is the responsibility of National Health Service commissioners to make decisions on individual treatments for urinary tract infections on the basis of the available evidence, taking into account guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) where available. NICE guidance is always evidence based, adhering to the latest clinical thinking and research to determine the best treatment for patients.

Urinary Tract Infections

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to improve the (a) reporting and (b) tracking of urinary tract infections in the NHS; and if he will make a statement.

Seema Kennedy: NHS Digital’s Hospital Episodes Statistics publishes data on finished consultant episodes with a primary or secondary diagnosis of urinary tract infection broken down by financial year, rather than by calendar year.

NHS: Drugs

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage fairer pricing by pharmaceutical companies for drugs supplied to the NHS.

Seema Kennedy: The 2019 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access, and the statutory scheme for branded medicines pricing, work together to control the cost of branded medicines to the National Health Service and ensure it stays within affordable limits. The 2019 Voluntary Scheme began on 1 January 2019 and will run for five years until the end of 2023. The Voluntary Scheme aims to provide stability and predictability for all parties in terms of the United Kingdom’s branded medicines expenditure and the medicines pricing and access environment for the period 2019 to 2023. It also aims to achieve a balance between patient access, affordability and supporting the development of innovative new medicines, including support for small companies.

Drugs: Prices

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the affordability of medicines as a result of the redrafted WHO resolution entitled, Improving the transparency of markets for medicines, vaccines and other health-related technologies proposed by Italy on 29 April 2019.

Seema Kennedy: The United Kingdom has a long-established and globally-recognised track record of assessing the price of new, innovative medicines by their clinical benefit and value, rather than by their development costs or international reference prices.The UK will engage constructively with the talks at the World Health Assembly to achieve the best outcome for people here and globally, including in low and middle income countries. Pricing arrangements are the responsibility of Member States and are highly context specific, but the Department supports information sharing and mutual learning initiatives, where appropriate, in seeking to improve value for money for country procurement budgets.

Bowel Cancer: Young People

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of young people developing bowel cancer.

Seema Kennedy: Obesity and poor diet are risk factors for bowel cancer in young people.The second chapter of the world-leading childhood obesity plan was published in June 2018. This builds on the real progress made since the publication of chapter one in 2016, particularly in reformulation of the products our children eat and drink most. In chapter two we have set a bold ambition to halve childhood obesity by 2030 and significantly reduce the gap in obesity between children from the most and least deprived areas by 2030.Many of the measures in both chapters of the plan will have an impact on tackling obesity across all age groups. These include the soft drinks industry levy, sugar reduction and wider calorie reformulation programme, restricting promotions and calorie labelling in restaurants which will improve our eating habits and reduce the amount of sugar we consume.‘Childhood obesity: a plan for action, chapter 2’ is available at the following link:www.gov.uk/government/publications/childhood-obesity-a-plan-for-action-chapter-2

Brain Cancer

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of access to NHS support for sufferers of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.

Seema Kennedy: No specific assessment has been made by the Department at this time.Care for children with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is co-ordinated and provided by Children’s Cancer Principal Treatment Centres (PTCs) working in conjunction with Paediatric Oncology Shared Care Units. Children’s Cancer PTCs are responsible for planning and delivering treatment for children with DIPG as well as ensuring these children can access wider support services such as psychology services, specialist play services and other therapies.

Roaccutane: Side Effects

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential health risks and psychiatric side-effects of the drug Roaccutane.

Jackie Doyle-Price: As with all medicines in the United Kingdom, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency continuously monitors the safety of isotretinoin-containing medicines. This includes reports of suspected adverse drug reactions submitted by healthcare professionals, patients and carers through the Yellow Card scheme, as well as published and unpublished data. As new evidence on safety emerges it is carefully evaluated and, where appropriate, product information is updated and advice for prescribers and patients is issued.Specific assessments of possible psychiatric side effects associated with isotretinoin were considered by an Expert Working Group of the Commission on Human Medicines in 2005 and 2014. In addition, the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders was evaluated in a European review which was completed in 2018. This review concluded that the warnings in the product information for medicines containing isotretinoin regarding possible psychiatric adverse effects reflected what was known.Since 1998, warnings regarding the possible risk of developing depression and other psychiatric side effects have been included in the product information for Roaccutane and the generic versions of isotretinoin (the Summary of Product Characteristics for healthcare professionals and the patient information leaflet). The product information for isotretinoin warns that treatment may be associated with possible psychiatric side effects, that particular care needs to be taken in patients with a history of depression; and that all patients on isotretinoin should be monitored for signs of depression and referred for appropriate treatment if necessary. It also states that stopping isotretinoin may not lead to improvement and therefore further psychiatric or psychological evaluation may be necessary.

Department for Education

Academies: Autism

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions (a) he (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with AET on the benchmarking exercise for AET secondary schools in London; and whether his Department approved benchmarking process; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the benchmark against which AET secondary schools in London are being assessed.

Nadhim Zahawi: Holding answer received on 20 May 2019



The department, including ministers and officials, have held no detailed discussions with the Academies Enterprise Trust on a benchmarking exercise for their London Academies. We have not approved a benchmarking process, as this is for the trust to determine, and do not have a copy of any benchmark London Academies are currently being assessed against.The department does publish a range of financial benchmarking tools, and signposts trusts to these. They include the Schools Financial Benchmarking tool which can be accessed publicly here: https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/.

Students: Finance

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the review of post-18 education and funding will assess the way in which the student finance system is communicated to (a) current and (b) prospective (i) students, (ii) graduates, (iii) parents and (iv) others.

Chris Skidmore: The government’s review of post-18 education and funding is looking at how the government and institutions communicate with students and graduates, as well as parents and others, around student finance. This review looks to ensure this communication is as clear as possible (consistent with the relevant legal requirements) about the nature and terms of student support.

Students: Finance

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the review of post-18 education and funding is planned to report before the parliamentary summer recess.

Chris Skidmore: The independent panel will report shortly. The government will then conclude the overall review later this year.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 14 May 2019 to Question 250743 on Special Educational Needs: Finance, how many and what proportion of children and young people had an Education Health and Care Plan in each year since 2013 and 2019; and how much funding his Department allocated to high needs in each of those years.

Nadhim Zahawi: The level of high needs funding for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) for each year are published in the dedicated schools grant (DSG) allocations each year, as follows: YearAmount2013-14£5.0 billion2014-15£5.2 billion2015-16£5.2 billion2016-17£5.3 billion2017-18*£5.8 billion2018-19**£6.1 billion2019-20**£6.3 billion * In 2017-18 the baselines of the high needs block and the schools block within DSG were adjusted, to take account of local authorities’ spending decisions.** Includes the £125 million added to the high needs block in 2018-19 and 2019-20, in recognition of the cost pressures local authorities have been facing, announced in December 2018.Information on the number and proportion of children in schools with an education, health and care (EHC) plan or previously statement of SEN are published in the annual ‘SEN in England’ statistical release. A time series can be found in Table 1 at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2018.Information on all young people (up to age 25) with an EHC plan is published in the annual ‘Statements of SEN and EHC Plans’ statistical release. A time series can be found in Table 1 at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2018.The first full year that statutory EHC plans were in place was 2015. Figures prior to this, therefore, relate to statements only. Table 2 in the following link includes the number of new EHC plans during 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2018.It is important to note that the number of EHC plans and statements of SEN does not include learning difficulty assessments (LDAs). These were previously used in a similar way as an EHC plan, for young people with SEN at a post-16 level, but were replaced by EHC plans from 2015. The last record of LDAs were removed from the system in 2016.

Children's Centres

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to (a) reverse the closure of children's centres and (b) publish a strategy for the long-term expansion of the provision of children's centres.

Nadhim Zahawi: As set out in the government response to recommendation 13 of the Education Select Committee report on tackling disadvantage in the early years, published on 4 April 2019, we are clear that children’s centres have an important role to play in achieving my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s social mobility ambition, but it is right for local authorities to decide how to use them as part of the wider system of local services. The government response can be accessed here: https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/Education/Correspondence/Government-response-to-committee-9th-report-tackling-disadvantage-in-the-early-years-CP-68.pdf, the select committee report can be accessed here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmeduc/1006/1006.pdf.The government’s role is to engage with the sector, find out what works and support local areas to make the right decisions for their communities, which is why we have commissioned the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) to examine research and practice evidence with the aim of developing tools to help local authorities make informed choices about their children’s centre provision. The EIF project is part of the Department for Education’s £8.5 million local government programme, which will inform the next steps, including considering any future consultation, on children’s centres. Funding for the local government programme runs until March 2020, with evidence and learning emerging by its conclusion.

Social Services: Children

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the long-term benefit to the economy of early intervention and prevention work provided by local authority children’s services departments.

Nadhim Zahawi: Holding answer received on 20 May 2019



The government has funded the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) since 2013, including almost £2 million in 2018-20, to assess, evaluate and disseminate evidence of what works. The EIF has assessed the benefits of a wide range of specific early intervention programmes and suggested that whilst producing robust estimates is challenging, there is a compelling argument that the costs of intervening early are likely to pay off to society in economic terms. In particular, they highlight that the long-term economic benefits are considerable where early intervention leads to labour market gains, such as improvements in employment and earnings. However, they are clear that it is not a quick fix and is unlikely to reduce pressure on the social care system in the short term.The value of early intervention is reflected in statutory guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ (2018), which is clear that providing early help is more effective in promoting children’s welfare than reacting later – playing an important part in supporting children and young people to achieve better outcomes. The guidance is clear that local areas should have a comprehensive range of effective, evidence-based services in place to address assessed needs early. It is right that local authorities are free to decide how to use their children’s social care budget to manage local priorities and deliver the best services for children.The government has also committed £920 million to the Troubled Families Programme, an early intervention approach which aims to achieve significant and sustained improvement for families with multiple, high-cost problems.

Social Services: Children

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, by how much local authorities overspent on the provision of children’s social care in the year ending 31 March 2018; and what assessment he has made of the future financial sustainability of local government children’s services departments based on current levels of overspend.

Nadhim Zahawi: Holding answer received on 20 May 2019



Local authorities are required under Section 251 of the ‘Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009’ to submit education and children’s social care budget and expenditure statements. This data is published in statistical releases annually. The most recent release shows local authorities had a difference of approximately £1 billion in 2017-18 when their planned spend is compared to their actual spend.Funding for children’s services is made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement. We are in the final year of a multi-year settlement deal and have made £46.4 billion available this year for local services including those for children’s services. The government has also made £410 million available to local authorities this year specifically for adult and children social care.My department is working with the sector, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and with HM Treasury, as part of our preparation for the next Spending Review, to understand the level of funding local government needs to meet demand and deliver statutory duties.

Pupils: Poverty

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the NAHT survey entitled Embarrassed and Ashamed - The Impact of Austerity on England’s schoolchildren; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: Tackling poverty will always be a priority for the government. We have lifted 400,000 people out of absolute poverty since 2010 and income inequality has fallen.While schools alone cannot solve the challenges faced by many disadvantaged families at home, they can address barriers to learning when a child is at school. We support the provision of nutritious food in schools. This ensures pupils are well nourished, develop healthy eating habits and can concentrate and learn. The department provides free school meals support to 1.1 million of the most disadvantaged pupils. This saves families hundreds of pounds each year.The pupil premium has provided school leaders with more than £15.6 billion since 2011 to focus on support for disadvantaged pupils. We expect to spend another £2.4 billion this year. School leaders are free to use this additional grant in any way they choose to benefit their pupils. We know that schools sometimes use the funding to help put their disadvantaged pupils in a receptive state of mind to learn by providing breakfast, items of school uniform, equipment, emotional support, and homework clubs. This enables every child to realise their potential.

Pupils: Health

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on (a) creating a body image and media literacy toolkit and (b) making it a compulsory element of the school curriculum.

Nick Gibb: The Government is committed to an ambitious programme of activity to support good physical and mental health in children and young people. The Department for Education is working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care to provide support for schools so that they can promote good physical and mental wellbeing amongst their pupils. As part of this, the Government is making the teaching of health education compulsory in all state-funded schools from September 2020. Relationships education will be taught in all primary schools and relationships and sex education in all secondary schools. Schools are being encouraged and supported to start teaching these new subjects from September 2019. The statutory guidance for the new subjects sets out that pupils should be taught about the similarities and differences between the online world and the physical world. This should cover the impact of unhealthy or obsessive comparison with others online including through setting unrealistic expectations for body image and how people may curate a specific image of their life online.The Department is also producing supporting information for schools on how to teach about issues related to internet safety across the curriculum. This will cover information about the types of harms that young people could face online, including the impact that internet content can have on body confidence, along with guidance about teaching children how to assess critically what they encounter online.

Pupil Exclusions

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Ofsted report entitled, Exploring the issue of off-rolling published on 10 May 2019, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of pupils illegitimately removed from schools.

Nick Gibb: The Department is clear that off-rolling, as defined by Ofsted, is unacceptable, and whilst the Department believes this practice is relatively rare, the Government is committed to continue working with Ofsted to tackle the practice of off-rolling.Pupils leave school rolls for many reasons, including permanent exclusion, moving to another school, or changes of circumstances (such as when a pupil moves to a new area). All schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register. There is no legal definition of ‘off-rolling’. However, the law is clear that a pupil’s name can only be deleted from the admission register on the grounds prescribed in regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, as amended.Following media coverage of off-rolling in 2017, the Department wrote to all secondary schools, reminding them of the rules surrounding exclusion.Ofsted already considers records of children taken off roll and has also recently consulted on proposals that will see a strengthened focus on this issue. From September 2019 where inspectors find off-rolling, this will always be addressed in the inspection report, and where appropriate will lead to a school’s leadership being judged inadequate.In March 2018, the Government launched an externally-led review of exclusions practice, led by Edward Timpson CBE. The review explored how head teachers use exclusion, and why pupils with particular characteristics are more likely to be excluded from school. It also considered the differences in exclusion rates across primary and secondary schools in England.The Timpson Review and the Government’s response were published on 7 May. The review makes 30 recommendations and highlights variation in exclusions practice across different schools, local authorities and certain groups of children. The Government has accepted all 30 recommendations in principle, and the Department has committed to working with education leaders over the summer to design a consultation on making schools accountable for the outcomes for permanently excluded children, to be launched in the autumn. As part of this, the Department will seek views on how to mitigate the potential unintended consequences Edward Timpson has identified in his review, including the practice of off-rolling.

Education

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral evidence taken by the Education Committee on 30 April 2019, HC 341, Question 2041, if he will publish in full the turnaround plan agreed with the Academies Enterprise Trust.

Nadhim Zahawi: Further to the Education Select Committee questions on 30 April 2019, my noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, wrote to the committee on 21 May 2019 with further detail of the turnaround activity agreed with Academies Enterprise Trust.

Social Mobility

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to publish a response to the report published by the Social Mobility Commission entitled, State of the Nation 2018-19: Social Mobility in Great Britain Social Mobility in Great Britain.

Nadhim Zahawi: Social mobility is one of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s top priorities. We welcome the thorough analysis in the Social Mobility Commission’s State of the Nation 2018-19 report, and the important work that Dame Martina Milburn and her commissioners are doing to promote social mobility across the United Kingdom.We are going through the recommendations in the report carefully, however in keeping with previous reports, we do not plan to publish a formal government response.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: Sick Leave

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.

Edward Argar: The total number of staff1 working days lost due to sickness2, and more specifically stress, between April 2018 and March 2019 is as follows Total Number of staffWorking Days Lost3Total Staff (FTE) - average over 12 months69,783N/A.All Sickness (Headcount)38,989600,051Of which Stress (Headcount)2,76483,918Stress as % of total staff4%N/A.Stress as % of all sickness7%14% Notes1 This analysis covers MoJ and the Executive Agencies (including HMPPS and HMCTS).2 Absences are categorised according to International Classification of Diseases, which is an approach used across the civil service.3The cost to the Department is reflected in the total number of working days lost. The MoJ is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of all its employees, and to reducing sickness absence levels including those which are stress-related. Staff can seek advice and support from our comprehensive occupational health service and employee assistance programme which offers 24/7 help.

Youth Justice System Review

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which of the recommendations made by the Taylor Review of the Youth Justice System, published in December 2016, have been (a) fully, (b) partially and (c) not achieved.

Edward Argar: In January 2017 we established a programme of reform to consider how we can deliver improvements across the youth justice system (YJS) and take account of the recommendations made by Charlie Taylor in his review of the YJS, published in December 2016. Since then we have established the Youth Custody Service to bring oversight of the whole youth secure estate under a single Executive Director directly accountable to me, and worked in partnership with DfE, DHSC and NHSE to develop the secure schools model. We hope to appoint the provider of the first secure school this summer. The Youth Justice Board has developed a new performance assessment process for Youth Offending Teams and we have increased the availability of liaison and diversion services across England. Work is also underway to review our criminal records processes and we have established a dedicated youth justice disproportionality team who are taking forward work to explain or address disproportionate representation and outcomes within the system. In addition, the HMCTS court reform programme has a specific workstream considering the needs of children and we are also undertaking a review of the use of remand for children. Work has therefore been completed, or is underway, in relation to every recommendation made in Charlie Taylor’s review and we will continue to use the review and the specific recommendations made to inform our work as we take our reform programme forward.

Young Offenders: Children in Care

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) young offenders institutions, (b) secure training centres and (c) secure children’s homes do not have a formal written procedure for the identification, assessment and care planning of looked-after children.

Edward Argar: All children in the youth secure estate have their needs and risks identified, addressed and managed in line with the requirements set out in ‘Standards for children in the youth justice system’ (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/780504/Standards_for_children_in_youth_justice_services_2019.doc.pdf). These standards apply to all secure establishments providers, including health commissioners and providers. All youth secure establishments must also follow the relevant case management guidance relating to LAC. Therefore, having or not having ‘formal written procedures’ does not in itself dictate the quality of care for LAC. Children detained under criminal justice legislation in secure establishments are subject to the Children Act 1989. The responsible authority continues to have responsibilities towards them in the same way as they would to other children in need – recognising that the court, by sentencing the child, has determined where he/she will live. The duties and expectations placed on all local authorities in relation to effectively caring for looked-after children and care leavers, including where they are detained in the secure estate, are set out in the relevant legislation and accompanying statutory guidance.

Trials: Ethnic Groups

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of (a) BAME and (b) white defendants who enter guilty pleas.

Edward Argar: The proportion of guilty pleas (where plea was known) has slowly been declining, from 74% in 2014 to 69% for white defendants, and from 61% in 2014 to 57% for BAME defendants in 2018.Data is only available for defendants dealt with at Crown Court (not all defendants) for indictable offences.The proportion of defendants who entered a guilty plea by ethnicity (2008 – 2018) can be found in the Crown court data tool at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/802313/crown-court-tool-2018.xlsxRemove the ‘Values’ field from RowsDrag the ‘Ethnicity’ field into RowsDrag the ‘Total for Trial’ field into ValuesFilter to ’01: Guilty Plea’ in the ‘Plea at Crown Court’ field for the number of defendants that entered a guilty pleaFilter to ’01: Guilty Plea’ and ’02: Not Guilty plea’ in the ‘Plea at Crown Court’ field number of defendants that entered a plea overall (where plea was known)The number of BAME defendants can be defined by combining ’02: Black’, ’03: Asian’, ’04: Mixed’ and ’05: Chinese and other’ rows. The number of white defendants who entered a guilty plea each year can be found in the ‘01: White’ row.The proportion of defendants who entered a guilty plea can be found by dividing the number of guilty pleas by the number of overall pleas for the relevant ethnicity rows.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Welsh Language

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether Welsh language speakers are able to correspond with Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service in England through the medium of the Welsh language.

Paul Maynard: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

European Parliament: Elections

Caroline Lucas: To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if the Electoral Commission will make and publish an urgent assessment of how many local returning officers failed performance standard one in relation to European Parliament elections because polling cards were delivered without adequate time to allow people to (a) change their registration details and (b) apply for an absent vote; what the (i) earliest, (ii) latest and (iii) average date was that local authorities sent out polling cards for the European Parliament elections; what effect the delay between commencement of the statutory election timetable on 15 April 2019 for all regions and formal Cabinet level confirmation on 7 May 2019 that the European Parliamentary elections would go ahead had on the decisions of local authorities on when to send out polling cards; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Phillipson: The Commission has collected information on the estimated despatch dates for the first issue of poll cards to registered electors for the European Parliamentary election. The earliest estimated dates were in the week commencing 15 April 2019 and the latest dates were in the week commencing 6 May 2019; the average dates for despatch were in the week commencing 22 April 2019.The timing of despatch of poll cards varies by local authority area and will depend on factors such as the ability of print suppliers to meet RO requirements.Returning Officers (ROs) are required to send out poll cards to electors as soon as practicable after the publication of the notice of election. The confirmation received on 7 May 2019 that the election would proceed would therefore have had no impact on the decisions of ROs as to when to send out poll cards.The Commission continues to provide guidance, support and challenge to Regional and Local ROs. It will report on the administration of the poll and the performance of ROs against the performance standards after the election.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Buildings: Insulation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2019 to Question 249214 on Buildings: Insulation, what evidence he has received that all residents have been informed of the inclusion of their residences in his Department's Building Safety Programme monthly data release.

James Brokenshire: Building owners are responsible for ensuring residents are informed of fire safety issues in their buildings. We are engaging with building owners, managing agents, local authorities and others to ensure that remediation happens as quickly as possible, and that interim safety measures are in place in all buildings until the cladding is replaced.

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 May 2019 to Question 249313 on Buildings: Insulation, when the BS 8414 test of a High Pressure Laminate cladding system will be carried out by the Fire Protection Association.

Kit Malthouse: The Department is working with the contractor to ensure that the test is carried out as soon as reasonably practicable. The exact timing will depend on factors such as the time needed to source the necessary components for the test and the time needed to build the test rig.

High Rise Flats: Birmingham

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many (a) private tower blocks and (b) social housing blocks in Birmingham have been identified as requiring the removal and replacement of unsafe aluminium composite cladding.

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated to Birmingham city council to remove and replace unsafe aluminium composite cladding in council and housing association blocks since such funding was made available in 2018.

Kit Malthouse: As of 30 April, Birmingham has between 1 and 5 private sector high-rise buildings identified with Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding systems unlikely to meet Building Regulations which are yet to be remediated. This data is published in the April 2019 Building Safety Programme Data Release.There has been no funding allocated to Birmingham City Council as we are not aware of any social sector high-rise buildings with ACM cladding in Birmingham.

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, upon which expert authority the Permanent Secretary to his Department wrote to local authority chief executives and housing association chief executives on 22 June 2017 stating that Aluminium Composite Material should be considered as filler as referred to in paragraph 12.7 of Approved Document Part B Volume 2 of 2013.

Kit Malthouse: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he could clarify upon which expert authority the Permanent Secretary to his Department wrote to local authority chief executives and housing association chief executives on 22 June 2017 stating that Paragraph 12.7 of Approved Document Part B Volume 2 of 2013 does not just apply to thermal insulation within the external wall construction, but applies to any element of the cladding system, including, therefore, the core of the Aluminium Composite Material cladding.

Kit Malthouse: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the (a) individuals and (b) organisations that attended the large-scale tests conducted on systems containing Aluminium Composite Material cladding that took place in the summer 2017.

Kit Malthouse: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Buildings: Insulation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the names of the (a) individuals and (b) organisations that have been invited to witness the large-scale test on High-Pressure Laminate cladding and stonewool that his Department has commissioned the Fire Protection Association to undertake.

Kit Malthouse: The date of the test remains to be confirmed by our contractor. As such no individual or organisation has been invited to witness the large-scale test yet.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Brexit

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in her Department who were transferred or seconded to work (a) in other departments or (b) on other departmental briefs on preparations for the UK to leave the EU, have since returned to her Department.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Holding answer received on 21 May 2019



Four Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil servants remain augumenting in Other Government Departments as preparation for the UK to leave the EU. A total of 257 MOD civil servants were augmented to Other Government Departments including those who were augmented in support of Operation Yellowhammer. As at 14 May 2019, 253 had returned to the MOD.

Porton Down: Animal Experiments

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many marmosets at DSTL Porton Down were culled on the grounds they were deemed to be (a) surplus animals and (b) unsuccessful breeding animals in each of the last 3 years.

Stuart Andrew: The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) at Porton Down, Wiltshire, is licensed by the Home Office to conduct the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) in-house research involving the use of animals.There are occasions when it is necessary to euthanise an animal for its own welfare or for the welfare of the remaining breeding population. Veterinary surgeons provide extensive advice on the welfare of the animals and on the overall health of the breeding colony.For 2016, 2017 and 2018, no surplus marmosets were euthanised. Due to unsuccessful breeding, no marmosets were euthanised in 2016; for 2017, one breeding marmoset was euthanised, and for 2018, three breeding marmosets were euthanised on veterinary advice that it would not be good for the animal's welfare and/or may risk the animal's health to carry on breeding.Dstl always considers what will be in the best interests for every animal's welfare and follows the Home Office's Animal in Science Regulation Unit's advice on rehoming and setting free, which is available to view on gov.uk.

Armed Forces: Chemical Weapons

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of medical measures to protect members of the armed forces against nerve agents following the incidents in Salisbury and Amesbury last year.

Mark Lancaster: The response to this unique incident in the UK was predominately led by other Government Departments, supported by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Post event there was detailed examination of the properties of the nerve agent and its medical management by military and civilian scientific and medical communities, re-affirming the effectiveness of our current Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) medical countermeasures and the importance of continuing medical care.The MOD, in collaboration with countermeasure development partners, will use the information and lessons identified for future capability development as well as the continuing training of first responders and medical personnel. Furthermore, the UK has shared valuable information with its allies to allow them to assess their CBRN medical countermeasures and maximise interoperability.

Clyde Naval Base: Unmanned Air Vehicles

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of safeguards for submarines relating to drone activity when entering or leaving Faslane.

Mark Lancaster: We employ a range of security measures to counter threats to our national security. I am withholding further details as publication would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the process is for her Department when it considers an application for an advance payment for universal credit.

Alok Sharma: If a claimant meets the conditions for an advance we aim to make the payment within 72 hours. However, an advance can be paid on the same day the claimant applies if they or their household would suffer genuine hardship if they had to wait 72 hours for the payment.Applications for a Universal Credit advance payment can be made in person, by telephone or online depending on the claimant’s circumstances. Depending on the type of advance payment application, we will consider whether the claimant satisfies the eligibility conditions for receiving the advance. If the claimant is eligible we will agree the amount of the advance and the period over which the advance will be recovered from their future Universal Credit payments. The outcome of the application is explained to the claimant and their online journal updated.

Homelessness

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effect of regional job centre closures on trends in the level of homelessness in those regions.

Alok Sharma: When closing or merging a Jobcentre, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) undertake an equality analysis as part of the detailed planning for service reconfiguration. This will include feedback from public consultation in those locations where this applied. Details of jobcentres that have closed and/or merged in the last two years can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/update-on-the-future-of-dwp-jobcentres The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government publishes local authority data on homelessness applications quarterly. Reference should also be made to the response given on 9 February 2018 in the reply to PQ 126480.

Department for Work and Pensions: Sick Leave

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of officials in her Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in her Department; and what the cost was to her Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.

Will Quince: The Department recognises its legal duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of our employees; this includes identifying and reducing workplace stressors. Our approach is a holistic one that utilises the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Management Standards for work related stress and follows key principles to help identify and reduce work place stressors. 2,473 employees took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months which represents 3% of our paid staff. As a percentage, such absences equated to 10.7% of all Working Days Lost due to sickness absence. However, as the Department continues to pay salaries during sickness absence there is no direct financial cost. Our approach to absence is fair but robust with the emphasis on health promotion and absence prevention. The Department has a range of support from mental health toolkits, stress reduction plans plus tailored support for people who do go off sick or need support through our Employee Assistance Programme which includes counselling. The Department has 965 Mental Health First Aiders, who provide acute, short-term and structured support to individuals, provide reassurance and signpost colleagues to both DWP and external sources of support as appropriate. Mental Health First Aiders are also provided with continuous professional development and support for their own mental wellbeing.

Universal Credit: Housing

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 April 2019 to Question 243315, how many universal credit claimants in the central London broad rental market area are in receipt of the shared accommodation rate of the housing element of that benefit.

Will Quince: This information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Independent Case Examiner: Complaints

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many of the 158 complaints about the Independent Case Examiner in 2017-18 were on the length of time it took to investigate a complaint.

Will Quince: The Independent Case Examiner’s Office recorded 158 complaints about its service during the 2017/18 reporting year, of which 60 concerned delays in starting investigations and 6 concerned delays in concluding investigations.

State Retirement Pensions: Reciprocal Arrangements

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 April 2019 to Question 242790 on State Retirement Pensions: Reciprocal Arrangements, which non-EU countries have made requests for reciprocal social security agreements with the UK since 1992.

Guy Opperman: Requests for social security agreements may be raised in formal and informal meetings and correspondence at both ministerial and official level. The Department for Work and Pensions does not, as a matter of routine, maintain records of such requests.

Universal Credit

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of whether there is a need for transitional protection for mixed-age couples that will see eligibility for pension credit and housing benefit affected by transferring to universal credit.

Guy Opperman: The mixed age couples change will not apply to couples already claiming Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for pensioners on 14 May for as long as they remain entitled to either benefit. DWP wrote earlier this year to those mixed age couples already receiving Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for pensioners to ensure they know about the change and how they could be affected if their circumstances change on or after 15 May. Couples who would be eligible for the pension age benefits under the previous rules but have not claimed before 15 May will have up to 13 August to make a backdated claim to 14 May and we encourage them to do so.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Veterinary Medicine: Migrant Workers

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of additional accredited vets that will be required in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: In the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, all animals, products of animal origin (POAO), fish, shellfish, crustaceans, germplasm or fishery products exported from the UK to the EU will require an export health certificate (EHC). EHCs have to be certified by either a suitably accredited Official Veterinarian (OV) or, in the case of fish and fish products, either an OV or an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) employed by a local authority. Defra does not employ OVs or EHOs so we have engaged with the private sector and local government to identify means of increasing the number of authorised signatories available. From February we have provided free training for vets to become accredited to sign EHCs. Over 300 vets have completed the training, an increase of just under 50% in the total number of suitably qualified OVs. To support OVs we also created a new role of Certification Support Officer (CSO). A CSO can handle preparatory and administrative aspects of EHCs (checking documents, identifying products or sealing containers). This will free up OV time and capacity to provide the final assurance required. The number of qualified CSOs stands at 84.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Sick Leave

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We can confirm we have searched our records and can provide the information below. This information covers the period 1 April 2018 – 31 March 2019. We do not hold data relating specifically to stress as a separate category of sick leave absence. Instead we have provided data relating to all mental health absences. This category includes psychological illnesses such as stress, depression, anxiety and any other mental health condition. How many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to mental health in the last 12 months109 members of staff 2.25% of total staff headcountWhat proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his DepartmentAbsences relating to mental health made up 34.9% of all sickness absencesWhat the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that periodTotal cost of mental health sickness is £427,559.55 The proportion of officials taking sick leave for reasons relating to mental health has remained constant at around 2% for the last five years. We have various services and support mechanisms in place to support employee mental health. For example we have an internal employee led mental health ‘buddy’ network, and employees have access to an external provider Employee Assistance Programme, and Occupational Health Service. We also have a process in place for notifying and managing work related stress.

Private Rented Housing: New Forest

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consultation in accordance with the Minister's Mandate preceded changes in the policy of letting dwellings in the New Forest administrated by the Forestry Commission; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: The Minister’s Mandate, which is mainly concerned with the conservation of the natural and cultural heritage of the Crown lands of the New Forest, does not contain any references to the provision or the letting of dwellings. The principles guiding the Forestry Commission’s approach to housing in the New Forest are unchanged. The Commission aims primarily to meet its operational requirements in respect of housing for its own workforce, some of whom are also Commoners, but also continues to offer discounted residential rents to other Commoners in the New Forest. The Commission plays a vital role in the life of the New Forest, and over the past 25 years has done much to support commoning through its land management and property policies. This includes substantial public subsidy on the basis of the benefits to commoning and maintaining the traditions of the New Forest, but this has to be balanced with the need for financial sustainability in managing the local housing stock and the cost to the taxpayer of caring for the nation’s forests. I would expect the Forestry Commission to seek approval from Ministers before any fundamental change in approach is implemented.

Electronic Training Aids

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2019 to Question 249947, whether the Government has plans to bring forward legislation to ban the use of electronic shock collars by mid-July.

David Rutley: The necessary legislation needed to prohibit the use of remote controlled hand-held electronic training collars for dogs, will be laid before Parliament in due course. Timings for this legislation will be announced in the normal way.

Cats and Dogs: Imports

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure compliance with the Balai Directive to protect the UK from disease in relation to EU and Third country imports of stray cats and dogs.

David Rutley: Defra takes the threat to public and animal health posed by animals entering the United Kingdom (UK) very seriously. This includes the rescue and rehoming of stray cats and dogs from EU and Third countries under the Balai Directive, which is classed as a commercial import not as a pet import. Importation of stray dogs and cats, whose history is unknown can pose a biosecurity risk to the UK and therefore enforcement measures are in place to ensure compliance. All consignments of stray dogs or cats from Third countries must enter through a Border Inspection Post (BIP), and receive documentary, physical and identity checks upon arrival for compliance with import requirements. All EU consignments of dogs or cats receive documentary checks on entry and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) conduct further checks post-import. A risk-based approach is used to determine which consignments receive a further post-importation identity and documentary check at their destination in the UK. Where animals fail to meet the necessary health requirements for entry to the UK, they must either be quarantined until compliant, returned to their country of origin, or euthanised – all at the expense of the owner or importer. This helps to preserve the UK’s high standards of biosecurity, and acts as a deterrent to those who might otherwise be motivated to abuse Balai import requirements. The UK CVO is in correspondence with her EU counterparts in Member States where issues of non-compliance have been detected.

Air Pollution

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of legally binding targets for reducing air pollutants; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Targets play an important role in driving action to reduce emissions from pollution sources to improve air quality. This is why we have committed to setting a new long term target for PM2.5 in our Clean Air Strategy, in addition to meeting our 2020 and 2030 emissions ceilings under the EU National Emission Ceilings Directive. We will publish evidence soon on what action would be needed to meet WHO guidelines.

Animal Welfare

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that local authorities have the resources to enforce the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

David Rutley: Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, local authorities, in common with the Animal and Plant Health Agency and the police, have powers of entry to inspect complaints of suspected animal cruelty and take out prosecutions where necessary. Local authorities are able to make decisions based on local needs and the arrangements that work best for them, and it is for local authorities to determine how to prioritise their resources. The Government is investing in Britain’s future, and this year’s local government finance settlement includes extra funding for local services. Local authorities will have access to £46.4 billion this financial year (2019/20) to meet the needs of their residents. This is a cash increase of 2.8% and a real terms increase which will strengthen services and support for local communities.

Home Office

CCTV: Biometrics

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of facial recognition in CCTV.

Mr Nick Hurd: Facial recognition is a fast evolving area of technology with the potential to streamline identity verification and authentication processes across Government and the private sector.Its performance is dependent on a number of variables, from the quality of the images, environmental factors, the specific algorithm used, the thresholds or risk profile applied and many other factors. Possible matches produced by LFR systems are always checked by a human operator before deciding what, if any, action to take.

Immigrants: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2018 to Question 196233 and with reference to page 14 of the Memorandum of Understanding between HMRC and the Home Office on the EU Settlement Scheme, what is defined as a genuine business need to access data.

Caroline Nokes: A genuine business need means only staff at the Home Office and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs who require access to the data to carry out their duties will be granted access.

Visas: Applications

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of visa applications that have been delayed as a result of his Department's investigations into Life in the United Kingdom testing centres in each of the last three years.

Caroline Nokes: Providing the information requested would require a manual check of individual records which could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Asylum: Religion

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to improve his Department's ability to assess asylum applications made on the grounds of religious or belief-based persecution.

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to improve his Department's ability to assess asylum applications made on the grounds of humanist beliefs.

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training is provided to all asylum decision-makers on how to assess religious and belief-based persecution claims.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office has been working closely with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Asylum Advocacy Group (AAG) for many years, to help improve their approach to religious based claims and have recently worked with them recently to develop and produce a specialist training package.The Asylum Learning and Development Team started to deliver the specialist training package on religious claims on Monday 8 April 2019, which will be mandatory for all asylum decision-makers.The aim of this course is to ensure that where religion or belief is raised in an asylum claim, decision makers appropriately consider all the available evidence in accordance International, European & Domestic law and Home Office policy, when interviewing asylum seekers and making decisions on their claims.In order to alleviate any concerns about the way in which vulnerable claims are dealt with, a review has been commissioned to investigate the way claims based on religious grounds and LGBT+ are assessed. The aim and approach of the Review will be to ensure that empathy and religious literacy is considered by Decision Makers when assessing these highly complex claims, acknowledging the impact of their decision whilst ensuring appropriate rigour is applied as these routes can be open to fraudulent claims.

Overseas Students: English Language

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2019 to Question 249833, how many students who have taken the TOEIC English language test since 2016 sat the exam in the UK.

Caroline Nokes: I refer the Honourable Member to my previous answer. ETS were removed from the list of approved test providers for immigration purposes on 1 July 2014. TOEIC has not been accepted for immigration purposes since that date.

Offenders: EU Nationals

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2019 to Question 245932, how many EU foreign national offenders have been deported from the UK following a criminal conviction in each of the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: The number of returns from the UK of EU Foreign National Offenders by year (and quarter) is published in table rt_06_q (returns data tables, volume 5) in ‘Immigration Statistics, year ending December 2018’, available from the GOV.uk website at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/781118/returns5-dec-2018-tables.odsDeportations are a subset of enforced returns. They may occur either following a criminal conviction, or when it is judged that a person’s removal from the UK is conducive to the public good. Information on those deported is not separately available. The published statistics on FNO returns refer to total returns.

Forced Marriage: Young People

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to protect young adults from arranged and forced marriages.

Victoria Atkins: The UK is a world-leader in the fight to stamp out the brutal practice of forced marriage, with our joint Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) leading efforts to combat it both at home and abroad. We made forced marriage a criminal offence in 2014 to better protect victims, sending a clear message that this abhorrent practice is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the UK. In 2017 we also introduced lifelong anonymity for victims of forced marriage to encourage more victims of this hidden crime to come forward.An “arranged marriage” is one where parents or other relatives choose a potential suitor, but both parties involved have the final say and can withdraw at any point. As such, it is not illegal. If a person changes their mind during that process and then is not allowed to stop the marriage – this becomes a forced marriage and is unacceptable.The FMU operates a public helpline to provide advice and support to victims, those at risk, and professionals. The support offered ranges from providing information and guidance to organising rescue and repatriation to the UK for victims overseas. In November 2018 we also launched the Forced Marriage Awareness Campaign, which highlights that forced marriage is a crime and directs victims to contact the helpline for supportBorder Force officers at UK ports and airports are trained to look for those at risk of Honour Based Abuse (HBA), including forced marriage. Border Force conducts regular joint operations (‘Operation Limelight’) with the police at airports across the country to raise awareness with potential victims of HBA

Police: Pensions

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has estimated the cost to the public purse of paying survivor pensions to all police widows and widowers regardless of remarriage or cohabitation; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: We have estimated with the Government’s Actuary’s Department, by using historical actuarial data, that the total cost of retaining benefits for all police survivors would increase the police scheme liabilities by around £144m. It is also estimated that retaining benefits for all police survivors, including reinstatement of pensions already surrendered, would increase the police scheme liabilities to around £198m.

Refugees: Children

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that unaccompanied child refugees will continue to be transferred under the Dubs scheme in the next twelve months.

Caroline Nokes: We remain fully committed to fulfilling our commitments under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. Over 220 children were transferred to the UK under section 67 when the Calais camp was cleared in late 2016. Since then we have been making further progress with participating States to refer and transfer more eligible children to move closer to the commitment to transfer 480 children.Relocation of eligible children to the UK is dependent on the availability of appropriate local authority care placements. The Home Office recognises the highly valuable work that local authorities undertake in supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) which is why we have significantly increased the funding paid as a contribution to their costs. It is hoped that this will enable more local authorities to feel able to offer placements for vulnerable UASC, and we will be working with them and partners to encourage this.

Crimes of Violence: Radicalism

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reported instances of far-right violence have been recorded in each of the past 10 years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office routinely collects and releases data on the number of violent offences recorded by the police in England and Wales.This data does not include information on whether the violence was motivated by far-right ideology or not.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Sick Leave

Tom Brake: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.

Oliver Dowden: The number of employees in Cabinet Office from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 who wereabsent for stress related reasons was 48. This represented 0.64% of the total workforceThe proportion of sickness absence related to stress related reasons was 11.35% of theoverall sickness absence for the department for the same time periodThe estimated cost to the department from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 for employeestaking stress related reasons, is estimated at £199,634Cabinet Office sickness absence data is published regularly, and is available up toDecember 2018 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-absence-data The Cabinet Office wellbeing action plan enables support for all staff’s health andwellbeing. Key initiatives include: running leadership wellbeing training for all Senior CivilServants, updating line manager training to ensure wellbeing is included in allconversations, embedding wellbeing into the Senior Civil Service leadership objective andincluding wellbeing in performance management monthly conversation toolsThere are a number of support services available in Cabinet Office that provide support oradvice to all employees. These include the Cabinet Office alumni network, the CabinetOffice listening service and the employee assistance programme.

Prime Minister: Sick Leave

Tom Brake: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of officials in the Prime Minister's office took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in her Department; and what the cost was to her Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.

Oliver Dowden: The number of employees in Cabinet Office from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 who wereabsent for stress related reasons was 48. This represented 0.64% of the total workforceThe proportion of sickness absence related to stress related reasons was 11.35% of theoverall sickness absence for the department for the same time periodThe estimated cost to the department from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 for employeestaking stress related reasons, is estimated at £199,634Cabinet Office sickness absence data is published regularly, and is available up toDecember 2018 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-absence-data The Cabinet Office wellbeing action plan enables support for all staff’s health andwellbeing. Key initiatives include: running leadership wellbeing training for all Senior CivilServants, updating line manager training to ensure wellbeing is included in allconversations, embedding wellbeing into the Senior Civil Service leadership objective andincluding wellbeing in performance management monthly conversation toolsThere are a number of support services available in Cabinet Office that provide support oradvice to all employees. These include the Cabinet Office alumni network, the CabinetOffice listening service and the employee assistance programme.

Government Departments: Land

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the top ten firms by value of sales that have purchased government land and property since 2010.

Oliver Dowden: Due to data protection reasons Cabinet Office cannot publish the names of individual purchasers of each Government site sold. We also do not monitor the number of sites reported as surplus which are still currently in operational use.

Government Departments: Land

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many sites identified for sale from the government estate are currently in use.

Oliver Dowden: Due to data protection reasons Cabinet Office cannot publish the names of individual purchasers of each Government site sold. We also do not monitor the number of sites reported as surplus which are still currently in operational use.

Government Departments: Property

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria are used to evaluate whether Government-owned land and property should be made available for purchase.

Oliver Dowden: Where a Government asset no longer serves a public purpose, or that purpose can bemore efficiently realised through its transfer to private or non-government hands, aGovernment Department or Arm’s Length Body may choose to sell that assetThe disposal of individual sites is a matter for each Department or Body. It is the role of theAccounting Officer to ensure this represents value for money and is achieved in line with the Green Book, Managing Public Money and the Guide for Disposal of Surplus Land.Departments are expected to identify land as surplus where it is no longer required for operationalpurposes. Managing Public Money states that Departments should dispose of surplus sites within 3years. In 2017 the Office of Government Property published the Guide for the Disposal of SurplusLand, providing detailed guidance on how to plan for and execute land disposalsAs part of the Government Estate Strategy 2018, the Office of Government is leading on aGovernment commitment to release £5 billion land and property in 2015 - 2020.

Government Departments: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contingent workers are working on IT projects across government.

Oliver Dowden: The Cabinet Office does not hold this information. Workforce planning is primarily the responsibility of each department, to determine based on their individual operational and policy requirements.

Government Departments: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many workers hired through supplier resource are working on IT projects across government.

Oliver Dowden: GDS and the Cabinet Office do not hold data relating to the number of cross-government IT staff hired through supplier resource.

Government Departments: Consultants

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse was of consultancy fees as recorded on the Cabinet Office Spend Analytic Database for each Department in each financial year since 2010-11.

Oliver Dowden: All departmental spend over £25,000 is published on GOV.UK.

Cybercrime: Public Appointments

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the functions and responsibilities of the Principal Cyber Security Risk Consultant will be similar to the functions and responsibilities of the (a) Government Chief Security Officer and (b) Chief Data Officer.

Oliver Dowden: The Principal Cyber Security Risk Consultant role is not similar in function or responsibility to eitherthe (a) Government Chief Security Officer and (b) Chief Data OfficerThe Principal Cyber Security Risk Consultant role is an interim, specialist role focussed on theinformation and cyber security of the digital services GDS builds, operates and uses.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Department for Exiting the European Union: Sick Leave

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.

Kwasi Kwarteng: Health and Wellbeing forms part of the Department for Exiting the European Union’s commitment to making the Department a great place to work. The Department has an attendance management policy, and Employee Assistance Programme and a dedicated mental health and wellbeing network who have been leading on a number of wellbeing activities across the Department to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of staff employed in the Department.We are not in a position to release this data as individuals may be identifiable due to fewer than 10 individuals being absent in the last 12 months due to stress. The total cost to the Department of all recorded sickness absence in the last financial year was approximately £72k based on the estimated cost of working days lost.

Treasury

Small Businesses: Tax Yields

Mr David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the amount of tax revenue accrued was from UK small businesses in 2017-18.

Mel Stride: Total tax revenue accrued from micro and small sized businesses combined was estimated to be approximately £120 billion in 2016/17. An estimate for 2017/18 will not become available until Autumn 2019. The estimate given includes Self-Assessment Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance Contributions (NICs), Corporation Tax, VAT, and Pay As You Earn Income Tax and Class 1 NICs. The definition of micro and small sized businesses used is consistent with the EU definition where possible. HMRC works to collect tax due under UK law from all businesses, regardless of size, in the most cost effective way. The government has also taken a number of steps which benefit small businesses through the tax system. Since Budget 2016 the government has announced reductions to business rates worth more than £13bn over the next five years. NICs bills are also reduced by up to £3,000 for over one million employers, and the UK is also highly competitive, with the lowest overall corporation tax rate in the G20 at 19%. The rate is legislated to fall further to 17% in 2020.

Treasury: Sick Leave

Tom Brake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.

Robert Jenrick: The Treasury’s sickness absence data for ‘mental health and related issues includes stress related conditions. HM Treasury publishes data in the Annual report and Accounts. The data for January to December 2017 can be found in the 2017/18 report and accounts, and data for the period January to December 2018 will be reported in the 2018/19 annual report and accounts which is due to be published in July. For information I have attached a link below to the 2017/18 report. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-annual-report We do not currently make an estimate of the cost of sick absence to the department. HM Treasury has the following support in place for those that are suffering due to stress or poor mental health including:Stress and Mental Health Awareness e-learning – which covers learning about stress, what the stressors can be and how to identify and lessen stressStress risk assessment used to identify stressors and implement controls to help reduce/eliminate the stressWorkplace Adjustments including flexible workingStress Management guidanceWellbeing GatewayMental Health TipsTips to help reduce stressMental Health First AidersEmployee Assistance Programme - provides a number of confidential advisory, counselling and support services. Their helpline is available 24/7Occupational Health provisionMental Wellbeing NetworkTreasury Supporters who are employees trained to help colleagues work through any concerns, however serious whatever their causeWellness Action PlansTime to Talk WorkshopsHR Advisers and Health, Safety & Wellbeing TeamHSE Stress Talking Toolkit

EU Budget: Contributions

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the contribution has been from the public purse to the EU since 29 March 2019.

Elizabeth Truss: The extension of Article 50 to 31 October 2019 will affect the size of the financial settlement because contributions to the EU that would have formed part of the settlement will be made while the UK remains a Member State, which reduces the size of the settlement. The UK will make further contributions in 2019 as a Member State until our exit, but there will be an equal reduction in contributions in 2019 under the financial settlement. The net effect on EU contributions is zero.The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimated in its March 2019 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) that the UK’s net (public sector receipts) contribution to the EU over 2019/20 would be £11bn.

Electronic Publishing: VAT Zero Rating

Steve Double: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the amendment to the EU VAT Directive agreed in October 2018, whether there is any impediment preventing the UK from zero-rating VAT on e-publications.

Steve Double: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons ebooks are not zero-rated to protect the accessibility of knowledge.

Mel Stride: Following changes to the EU Value Added Tax (VAT) Directive which took effect in December 2018, Member States may equalise the VAT treatment of physical publications and e-publications. The Government keeps all taxes under review, including VAT on e-publications. Any amendments to the UK VAT regime as it applies to physical publications and e-publications must be carefully assessed against policy, economic and fiscal considerations.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse per annum of all (a) UK pensioners residing abroad who do not receive a yearly increase in state pension and (b) UK pensioners residing in the European Economic Area or Switzerland returning to reside in the UK.

Elizabeth Truss: This information is not held. HM Treasury has not estimated the cost to the public purse of these pensioner groups.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Internet: Offensive Weapons

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps is he taking to ensure that social media companies tackle the advertising of online sales of knives and other weapons used in violent crime.

Margot James: Tackling serious violence is a top priority for the government through measures set out in the Serious Violence Strategy and further initiatives to tackle knife crime and serious violence more generally, including the Offensive Weapons Act which received Royal Assent on 16 May. The Online Harms White Paper, published in April, sets out plans for a regulatory framework to further ensure companies take action to address online harmful behaviour, including the sale of weapons and other illegal goods and services. A new statutory duty of care will require companies to take more responsibility for harm caused by content or activity on their services. Compliance with this duty of care will be overseen and enforced by an independent regulator. The regulator will issue codes of practice on what companies need to do to fulfil their duty of care, working with law enforcement for codes of practice on illegal harms to ensure they adequately keep pace with the threat.

Social Media: Freedom of Expression

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that social media companies respect freedom of speech when regulating content.

Margot James: The Government is committed to upholding free speech, and legislation is already in place to protect these fundamental rights. However, this freedom cannot be an excuse to cause harm or spread hatred. The Online Harms White Paper sets out the Government's proposals for making the UK the safest place to be online. The proposed independent regulator will have an obligation to protect users' rights online, particularly rights to privacy and freedom of expression. It will ensure that the new regulatory requirements do not lead to a disproportionately risk averse response from companies that unduly limits freedom of expression, including by limiting participation in public debate.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Sick Leave

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in the last 12 months; what proportion that leave was of total sick leave taken in his Department; and what the cost was to his Department of officials taking sick leave over that period.

Margot James: During the period 01/04/2018 - 31/03/2019, a total of 16 employees (1.0% of the total employees employed in the department for the same period) took sickness absence for reasons relating to stress. This sickness absence accounted for 10.1% of total sickness absence taken in the Department, and cost the Department approximately £70,130. The department has implemented a number of policies to provide support for staff suffering from stress, including: Early referral to occupational health expertsExtensive training for managers and employees - including on disability and mental health awareness, well-being, resilience and stress.A Stress Assessment and Reduction Plan toolkit which can be used by line managers to identify and manage stress when required DCMS has sought to promote an environment where individuals feel comfortable to talk openly about stress and mental health.The Department is a signatory to the ‘Time to Change Pledge’ and raises awareness of mental health and coping strategies through national campaigns such as the ‘Time to Talk’ day and the Mental Health Awareness Week. The department also organises ‘Mindfulness’ sessions for employees.

Design

Giles Watling: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the gross value added by the design sector in each region of the UK.

Margot James: The information requested can be found on pages 64-67 of the Design Council’s report The Design Economy 2018 which can be found here: https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/Design_Economy_2018.pdf

Design

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what (a) steps he is taking and (b) funds he is allocating to ensure that the UK remains a world leader in the design sector.

Margot James: Under its creative industries sector deal, the government has recently launched the £14million Creative Careers Programme, which is designed to raise awareness of the range of careers available across the creative industries, as well as launching the £4 million Creative Scale-Up investment readiness programme aimed at increasing the profitability, scalability and productivity of creative industries businesses. Design companies will be able to access both these programmes with obvious benefits for the wider sector in creating a pipeline of future talent.

Internet: Safety

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the protections for children and young people proposed in the Online Harms White Paper of adopting DNS over HTTPS.

Margot James: We recognise the potential for change that DNS over HTTPS introduces and are working with industry to ensure that regulatory needs can be provided for and to seek solutions to any potential issues with online protections.

Internet: Safety

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of people whose online parental controls could be affected by the adoption of DNS over HTTPS.

Margot James: We are aware that the adoption of DNS over HTTPS could impact online parental controls. We are working with industry with industry to understand both their plans for the implementation of DNS over HTTPS, and for solutions to maintain online parental controls.

Department for International Trade

Design: Exports

Giles Watling: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to increase the proportion of exports linked to design; what estimate he has made of the number of businesses involved in exports linked to design; .and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: The design sector is a priority for Government. Through the Creative Industries Sector Deal, Government is working with industry to increase creative industry exports – including design – by 50% by 2023. Beyond this, DIT’s Export Strategy sets out how we will support design businesses, and others, grow sustainably through exporting. This includes through initiatives such asthe GREAT Campaign, the Tradeshow Access Programme and financial support offered by UK Export Finance. There were 3,300 businesses in the 'Design and designer fashion' sub sector (to the nearest 100 businesses) who were exporters in 2017.

Coal: Export Credit Guarantees

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what his Department's policy is on the maintenance of UK Export Finance support for coal-related projects.

George Hollingbery: UK Export Finance (UKEF) complies with the OECD Sector Understanding on Export Credits for Coal Fired Electricity Generation Projects which prohibits it from supporting all but the most efficient coal-fired power electricity generation, with exceptions for the world’s poorest countries where the costs of cleaner power technologies may be prohibitive and poverty reduction objectives are deemed to outweigh the impact on climate change. UKEF has not supported the financing of any new coal-fired power plants overseas since 2002. UKEF undertakes environmental, social and human rights due diligence on all projects which are in scope of the OECD Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits, applying a risk-based approach. UKEF’s mission is to ensure no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance from the private sector. Its support is available for UK exports from all sectors.

Northern Ireland Office

Sovereignty: Northern Ireland

Ross Thomson: What recent assessment she has made of the benefits to Northern Ireland of being part of the UK.

David T. C. Davies: What recent assessment she has made of the benefits to Northern Ireland of being part of the UK.

Karen Bradley: This Government has made clear on many occasions that we will never be neutral in expressing our support for the Union.Northern Ireland benefits hugely from the Union and my steadfast belief is that Northern Ireland’s future is best served within a stronger United Kingdom.

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013: Northern Ireland

Tim Loughton: Whether she has plans to extend the provisions of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 to Northern Ireland.

Karen Bradley: As I have said on many occasions, I voted in support of same sex marriage in England and Wales and I hope that this can be extended to Northern Ireland in the future. However, marriage is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and an issue I want a restored Executive to resolve.

Hospitals: Parking

Robert Halfon: If she will hold discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on the abolition of hospital car parking charges in Northern Ireland.

John Penrose: The matter of hospital car parking is devolved in Northern Ireland and it would not be appropriate for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to intervene.In the absence of devolved government it remains for NI Permanent Secretaries to take the decisions they believe necessary in line with the guidance the Secretary of State set out last November, to keep the country running.

Common Travel Area: Northern Ireland

Bill Grant: What recent steps she has taken to ensure the maintenance of the Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland after the UK leaves the EU.

Karen Bradley: On 8 May, the United Kingdom Government and the Irish Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding codifying the Common Travel Area (CTA) and associated reciprocal rights.

Women and Equalities

*No heading*

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many civil servants in the Government Equalities Office have been seconded to (a) the Department for Exiting the European Union and (b) the Department for International Trade in each of the last three years.

Victoria Atkins: The Government Equalities Office (GEO) confirms no GEO civil servants have been seconded to either the Department for Exiting the European Union or the Department for International Trade in the last three years.

Employment: Disability

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to help ensure that employers provide reasonable adjustments to the workplace so that people with hidden or invisible conditions are able to (a) access and (b) stay in employment.

Victoria Atkins: The law is very clear that employers must make reasonable adjustments for employees and job applicants who meet the Equality Act 2010’s definition of disability, namely having a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on the person’s ability to do normal daily activities. Where a disability is not obvious, it will be necessary for the employee or job applicant to declare their condition, but at that point the onus passes to the employer to meet its legal obligations. To help employers comply with the law, the Government has issued guidance on the duty to make reasonable adjustments, here: https://www.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments-for-disabled-workers In addition, guidance on this subject has been issued by Acas and by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has also published a statutory code of practice for employers. Where employers fall short on their obligations, legal remedies exist for employees and job applicants, together with Acas’s early conciliation service, which aims to settle disputes before they reach the employment tribunal.